"A Psyduck who keeps his word!" Caster's nose tingled, feeling genuinely touched.
'Go get your family's adults,' this line, Caster had said to quite a few Pokémon.
But whether it was Magikarp, Goldeen, Krabby, or Poliwag, they all broke their promises in the end, treating Caster like a fool to be deceived.
Only this Psyduck actually brought the adults from home.
Splash!
Just as Caster was feeling moved, not far away beneath the water's surface, amid swirling currents, another Golduck emerged.
"Golba~"
This Golduck pointed at its wide-open mouth, looking at Caster with dissatisfaction in its eyes.
Where's mine?
Didn't you say there was plenty of bait left?
Fisherman, hurry it up!
"Huh???"
Caster froze for a moment, then after processing what happened, quickly attached bait and carefully placed it near the Golduck's mouth.
"Golba~"
The Golduck swallowed the bait in one gulp, showing no courtesy whatsoever.
[Hooked 'Golduck', reward: 1 Wacan Berry.]
The cheat ability's reward notification appeared immediately, followed by Golduck's attribute panel.
As expected, this Golduck's ability also had nothing to do with weather.
A family that truly stuck together!
Next, Caster watched as the Golduck spat out the hook and chewed the bait enthusiastically.
You could tell the bait was quite to Golduck's taste. After eating, its little face turned rosy red, looking like it wanted more.
"Golba~"
After a strange cry, this Golduck flicked its tail a few times and quickly swam to shore, opening its mouth again.
Fisherman, hungry hungry, feed feed!
Caster considered himself a seasoned fisherman, but this situation was definitely a first for him.
"You really don't consider yourself an outsider, do you, duck!"
Caster shook his head with a laugh.
However, thinking about the generous rewards the Golduck family had brought him, Caster readily took out the bait and graciously fed them.
As a person, you must know gratitude.
Seeing this, the Golduck and Psyduck in the distance quickly swam over too.
"Golba~"
"Quack~"
After feeding them several mouthfuls in a row, the family of three finally ate their fill and waved goodbye to Caster happily.
"Psyduck, if you have any relatives or anything at home, feel free to bring them next time too!"
Caster kept extending invitations, reluctant to part, appearing extremely warm and hospitable.
Although the first catch rewards were gone, even as wild individuals, Golduck were bound to be quite strong.
Being able to hook Pokémon of this caliber meant the cheat ability rewards were destined to be good.
Golduck got their food, Caster got his cheat ability rewards. Both sides had a beautiful future ahead.
...
After the Psyduck family left, Caster didn't immediately return to the Pokémon Center. Instead, he carefully examined the rewards from this haul by the lakeside.
[Surf: Water-type move, creates huge waves to attack all Pokémon around the user.]
[Double Team: Normal-type move, creates copies to confuse the opponent, thereby increasing evasion.]
[Genius Feather: A feather containing mysterious energy that can boost a Pokémon's Special Attack.]
[Wacan Berry: If the holder is hit by a supereffective Electric-type attack, it will consume its held Wacan Berry and halve the attack's damage. If the holder has Ripen, the damage is multiplied by 1/4.]
"All practical good stuff!"
Caster excitedly rubbed his hands together, his smile stretching from ear to ear.
Especially the Wacan Berry, which could somewhat compensate for Gyarados's quadruple weakness to Electric.
While quadruple weaknesses might be a symbol of the strong, when it comes to actual fighting, the damage really hurts.
Once hit by a four-times-effective move, a Pokémon would be dead or crippled. The margin for error was too low.
"The Wacan Berry is definitely for Gyarados, that's a no-brainer. Double Team goes to Gyarados too, to increase the margin for error in battles."
Caster stroked his chin, thinking about how to distribute the rewards.
"Gyarados isn't particularly skilled in Special Attack.
While I could use the 'Genius Feather' to specifically boost that and compensate for the shortcoming, resources aren't abundant right now, so it's better to first pursue the extreme Physical Attack path..."
"So I'll save the 'Genius Feather' for Pichu. This little guy can be considered for an extreme Special Attack speed build.
Besides Lightning Rod avoiding Electric-type moves in group battles, offensive output is essential too."
Caster touched the little Pichu in his pocket, his eyes full of affection.
He couldn't help it. This little guy was just too adorable and cute.
Even Caster, a straight-laced guy, couldn't resist its soft, cute appearance and unconsciously doted on it.
When looking at the final 'Surf' TM, Caster's body stiffened as he fell into thought.
Surf was a Water-type move, a STAB [same-type attack bonus] move for Gyarados. Having it master this move would maximize its combat power and effectiveness.
But Gyarados was following the extreme Physical Attack build.
Special Attack moves only served to cover blind spots, and there wouldn't be many opportunities to actually use them.
Moreover, Gyarados already had 'Chilling Water' as a Water-type Special Attack move.
Although its power was inferior to 'Surf', their functions weren't that different.
Plus, its additional effect of 'lowering the opponent's Attack' made it more practical than 'Surf'.
Thinking this far, Caster turned his gaze to the little Pichu blinking its eyes in his pocket.
Pichu could also master the Surf move!
Surf was a Special Attack move, perfectly matching Pichu's extreme Special Attack build route.
The key was it could cover blind spots. Ground-types and Rock-types that Pichu couldn't handle were coincidentally both weak to Water-type.
"A surfing Gyarados is ordinary and unremarkable! But a surfing Pichu, even in the entire Pokémon world, would be an extremely rare existence."
Having made up his mind, Caster decided: "If that's the case, then I'll teach Surf to Pichu!"
"Pichu, stand still!"
Caster took Pichu out of his pocket and placed it on the grass by the lake.
"Pichu?"
Little Pichu tilted its head in confusion, its little finger still at its mouth.
"There might be a strange sensation, bear with it."
Caster smiled, first taking out the 'Genius Feather' and placing it on Pichu's head.
Buzz!
The moment it contacted Pichu, the Genius Feather immediately melted and dissolved.
Then, lightning seemed to flash through Pichu's mind as electric sparks began flickering on its cheeks.
This was Pichu's display of excitement!
However, Pichu felt its mind become completely clear, cool and refreshing, extremely comfortable.
As time passed, the electric sparks on Pichu's electric sacs also began to weaken until they completely disappeared.
"Pi~ Pichu~"
Pichu opened its eyes, looking utterly incredulous.
It could feel that its control over energy had improved considerably.
Especially its STAB Electric-type energy!
Its electric sacs hadn't grown larger, but the electric current had changed from a troublesome child to an obedient one, becoming much easier to control.
Now it could finally cuddle with its trainer freely without being rejected.
Thinking of this, Pichu's eyes became sparkling bright.
"Here's another good thing for you!"
Seeing that Pichu had completely absorbed the Genius Feather, Caster smiled and quickly activated the 'Surf' TM.
"Pichu?"
Pichu shuddered, feeling an itch in its brain.
A mysterious way of using energy appeared in its mind and was deeply imprinted there, every step crystal clear.
"Pi~"
Next, Pichu unconsciously began circulating this energy according to the steps.
Water appeared out of nowhere beneath Pichu's feet, forming into waves over two meters high that lifted it up, continuously pressing forward before crashing down heavily.
Boom!
The large bluestone by the lake was struck by the waves. Water splashed everywhere, soaking a large patch of grass.
The waves dispersed and Pichu landed on the ground, confusion in its eyes.
I did this?
At the same time, Pichu's attribute panel appeared before Caster's eyes.
[Pokémon: Pichu]
[Type: Electric]
[Ability: Lightning Rod (Draws Electric-type moves to itself. Takes no damage and instead raises Special Attack)]
[Moves: Thunder Shock, Thunder Wave, Flash, Sweet Kiss, Surf]
"So it's not just hooked Pokémon whose attribute panels I can view. For non-hooked Pokémon, as long as I teach them moves, I can see their panels too?"
Looking at the panel that appeared before him, Caster pondered thoughtfully.
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